Warmth
by locknqueen
Summary: Cute little one-shot idea that I got from ImagineOutlawQueen on Twitter: Imagine Regina and Roland sneaking up and attacking Robin and Henry with snowballs, and they aren't quick enough to get away. Fluffy fluff fluff. Robin never died. Enjoy some happiness yo.


**Hi! Okay, I haven't published anything in several years so...yikes I am a little rusty on the writing front. But I've also grown more as a writer in the past few years so hopefully that helps. I'm on twitter... lockandqueen if ya wanna follow or not, or DM me requests...I don't really care lol. Anyways...I was bored and in a fluffy mood, so thanks to ImagineOutlawQueen for the idea. And here you go:**

 **Warmth**

The Merry Men had started it, if Regina were going to be completely honest. It was their fault she had come up with the idea for a snowball fight in the first place. They had not-so-accidentally mentioned Robin's detest for the sport, how it was the one thing he could never win at. At first, Regina hadn't thought much of it, but Roland had been with her at the camp when Little John opened his fat mouth and had demanded they make a planned assault on his father. It was her who had decided to include Henry in the attack; he had gotten older now, taller, and she was going to take her revenge on him for all of the short jokes he thought he could get away with. So, it was decidedly the Merry Men's fault for mentioning it, consequences be damned. She can't think about that now though, not with a four year old boy huddled in her arms with her hand over his mouth. "Roland," she chides quietly through her silent laughter, "if you don't stop making noise right now, I will bury you in this snow." That has him giggling even louder, and the hand over his mouth tightens just a bit more.

Even though Halloween was no more than a week ago, winter had decided to come early. The first snowstorm of the season is roaring above them, has been for nearly two days now. The ground is covered in inches of white, and although there are trails of footprints leading to and from the street, her yard is mostly untouched. Mostly. Regina sits on her knees behind one of the drifts of snow that Roland had suggested hollowing out like a fortress, a small reprieve from what they both knew to be a long battle. From the top, no one can tell it's been touched. The snow is melting from under her knees, now, and it has them aching from the cold. Her hands aren't fairing much better from inside the gloves she put on this morning, but her coat and scarf are keeping her mostly warm and Roland is like a small radiator in her lap. There's a pile of snowballs about two feet high on her right, and another is slowly forming on the other side. Their arsenal is coming together quite nicely, and Regina has to pride herself on the fact that she was able to keep this little ambush a secret for the past two days.

It hadn't been easy. Roland had been about ready to burst with excitement when the first snowfall had started. It had Robin oddly curious, because Roland usually isn't one for the cold, but Regina had dismissed it as being his first, calm winter in Storybrooke. "He's probably just excited to get to play in the snow with Henry." She told him.

That had eased his mind, but Roland had continued to make it hard for her to keep their secret. He almost foiled their plans at dinner last night as well. When Robin had mentioned hating the snow, Roland had piped up quite fast. "Yeah! And I also know tha-"

"Okay, time for dessert!" Regina had interjected, and for the first time ever, she found herself grateful to be living with three savage boys, all with soft spots for cobbler and cider.

The real work began this morning, however, when Emma had picked up Henry for a few hours, and Robin had gotten a call from David requesting his help down at the station. She had kissed his mouth on his way out the door, and he had promised to pick Henry up when he was done. Immediately after the front door closed, Roland bounced down the stairs in his thermal underwear with that dimpled grin she never could refuse, and he had begged her to let them start working. Regina obliged of course, which is why she finds herself outside in the freezing cold nearly four hours later. Her hand is still clapped over Roland's mouth, but now her shoulders are shaking with laughter as well.

"Sush! You're gonna give us away!" She scolds, and Roland leans in and nips at her hand with his teeth. "Ah-hey! Did you just bite me?" It hadn't hurt; her hand had been covered by her glove, but she laughs incredulously anyways. _Just like his father,_ she thinks.

"Maybe," he teases and jumps back when she lunges to tickle him. But then they can hear the voices getting closer, and Roland jumps back into the snowy fortress and pushes her down with a hand on her head. "Okay, they're here! They're here!" _That was quick,_ Regina thinks. She had received a text from Robin about ten minutes ago, explaining that he'd be home shortly with Henry and some other things that had her blushing and moving her phone away from Roland's view.

Quickly and silently, Regina pushes one of the snowball piles in front of Roland, raising a finger to her mouth to make him quit giggling. From the corner of her eye, she can see her soulmate's sandy blonde hair over the fence. Henry is in front of him, that much she can tell from the wisps of his red and grey scarf through the trees. Something in her gut twists though. Something isn't quite right, but she can't pin it down quick enough because, as Henry and Robin round the corner and make their way up the brick path, she hears Roland's battle cry. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

She watches as the first snowball of the battle soars past her and hits Robin square in the back. Almost as soon as it hits him, she launches her own assault, firing two more towards Henry. They thud against his winter coat, and the snow breaks apart and falls to the ground. They're both still turned around though, and it makes her stomach twist again. She can hear their murmurs from her spot behind the fortress, so just to be sure that they understand what's going on, she leans down and scoops up another snowball. This time, unfortunately, it's different. As soon as the snowball leaves her hand, Robin and Henry turn around and sprint forward, and the snowball hits Robin right in the face. He stops dead in his tracks, and Regina suddenly realizes why she felt so off about this whole thing.

Robin carries two Snowball Blaster guns, one in each hand, and hanging from his now open coat is a large plastic shopping bag filled with even more snowballs. The hole on one side has been pulled and strung around his neck and arm so the bag dangles loosely around his middle. Regina looks to Henry, only to see her son wearing the same bizarre outfit as Robin. The dread sets in. They've been sold out. _Stupid Merry Men,_ she thinks bitterly.

"Oh you'll pay for that one, Milady." Robin's voice brings her back, the smile on his face sinister almost, and he lunges for her, guns blazing. Before she can even move, she's hit once in the chest, and another time in the chin.

"Roland, run!" Regina squeals. There's ice stuck inside her scarf that's starting to sting, but she turns anyways to make a mad dash for the gate on the side of the house. Roland is just ahead of her; his laughs are loud and surprised hollers now. They hit the gate at full force, and Regina fumbles around with the lock for a second before she realizes that it's not going to open. "No…" she breathes on a sigh; her head falls forward against the paneled wood, and she swears to herself that she's going to curse the Merry Men to Hell.

"You won't get in through there, Regina," Robin coos, and she wants to take his head off of his body. When she turns around, she can see that he is stalking towards them, Henry following not far behind.

"Yah, sorry," her son shouts. "You're not winning today, shortstack." They both raise their weapons now, and she can feel Roland burying himself behind her body.

"Roland, you traitor!" Regina laughs, but her laughs turn to screams when snowballs begin flying from in front of them. "No! Mercy, Robin! We surrender! We surrender!" The snowballs keep hitting her for what feels like hours, until she hears mild curses from both Robin and Henry. She thinks they must both be out of ammunition when she hears their guns hit the ground. By now, she's freezing. There's ice water dripping from the ends of her hair, and snow is stuck to her coat and scarf. It's not exactly comfortable, but she's laughing too hard to care. "Heh," she breathes, finally. "Truce?" The question is hopeful, a bit too light sounding from her mouth, but in this moment, she's genuinely happy.

"Never!" Henry yells. "Get her, Robin!" Robin launches himself forward and sprints towards his soulmate. He wraps his arm around her waist, and despite her kicking and squealing, he manages to throw her over his shoulder.

"Rob-Robin! Put me down!" Regina fists the back of his coat. "Robin, I swear to god, you better put me down or-"

"Or what?" He interrupts as he begins to walk back towards the front of the house. "I don't believe you are in any position to be making threats, my love." There's quite a bit of laughter in his voice, and he sneaks a hand up and around her leg to pinch her ass. Regina inhales a sharp gasp, and laughs.

"Robin Hood! You put. Me. Down. Right now!" She starts to wiggle around in his hold, making it a great deal harder for him to keep her over his shoulder. They're still moving towards what she can only assume is the front of the house, but she has no idea what is going to happen next. "Fine. No sex for a month." She threatens, and immediately, she hears Henry pipe up.

"Ew, mom! Gross! There are kids here!" When Regina looks up, she can see he has his hands over Roland's ears, and his face is contorted into disgust. But there's still laughter in his eyes. Robin, however, has stopped walking. They're in front of the manor now, and Regina sees the fortress just behind them. After a moment, she realizes Robin is contemplating her threat.

"Robin, are you ser-" she's cut off, however, when the world starts to spin. Her back hits the snow, hard. "Oof!" she grunts, but suddenly Robin is on top of her, looking straight into her eyes.

"Take it back," he says, but he's smiling and leaning his head down to peck her lips.

"No." Regina grins. She's won this time, even if she is freezing cold.

"Take it back." Robin demands again, and then, she feels him moving around for something. He's peppering kisses all over her face. "Take it back, milady."

"Never," she laughs, and her hands move to his chest to push him off.

"Yes."

"Or what?" She puffs her chest out defiantly.

"Or it's going to get a lot colder, a lot faster." Regina doesn't understand his threat exactly, and so she shakes her head again. She regrets it almost immediately. The hand not supporting Robin's weight had been grasping for snow, and she feels his hand move under her coat and shirt, where he shoves the snow onto her bare stomach.

"ROBIN!" She twists under him, doing her best to escape through their laughter. He does it again. "Robin! Robin stop! Okay! I take it back!"

His assault on her stops, and suddenly they're right back where they started. He leans down to give her a quick, chaste kiss, assuming Henry has already been scarred enough for one day. Then, he rolls off of her and onto his feet, offering his hand to help her up. She takes it, and he hauls her quickly to her feet before looking around for the kids. Henry and Roland are snickering quietly by the stairs to the porch, huddled close together to keep warm. Regina sighs, shakes the snow from inside her shirt, and marches over to the boys. "Shortstack, huh?" she questions as she ruffles Henry's hair. He groans and tries unsuccessfully to dodge her.

"Not my fault you're such a tiny human." He grins.

"You'll pay for that one, young man." Regina points her finger towards his nose and squints her eyes. Then, she reaches into her pocket, grabs the little bit of snow she's managed to hide there (it's more like water now), turns, and shoves it into Robin's face with a laugh. He's still disorientedly wiping the snow from his eyes when she takes off into the house. He breathes a laugh and looks at Henry.

"What did I get myself into, son?"

Later that night, after dinner has been finished and both boys are in bed, Regina is snuggled up into the crook of Robin's arm. His fingers are stroking up and down her bare side, the satin sheets gathered just around their waists. She hums quietly into the dimly lit room, and Robin turns his face to press a kiss to the top of her head. "What are you thinking, milady?"

Regina smiles and shifts herself so that she can see his face. Her hand dances up his chest to rest over his heart, and she can feel the dull _thu-thump_ against her palm with every breath he takes. "Oh, you know," she laughs, "just that I'm not all that cold anymore."


End file.
